Aldi customer claims she found 'half a rat' in a bag of frozen vegetables

Pat Bateman, 60 years old, was feeding lunch to her 2-year-old granddaughter when she reportedly discovered a rat. Inside a bag of frozen vegetables purchased at Aldi, half of a rat carcass was allegedly frozen amidst the food. The chain has removed approximately 38,000 bags of Four Seasons Mixed Vegetables packaged at a supplier's facility in Belgium, according to The Sun.

"It was nearly empty so that's why I spotted something that looked out of place in the bottom of the bag," Bateman told The Sun. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I pulled it out. It just looked like half a rat. It had fur on it."

Bateman noted that she felt "physically sick" after finding the rat, realizing that they had already eaten over half the bag.

"And what's even worse," she said, "I fed it to my youngest granddaughter."

Bateman told The Sun she called Aldi to complain and was initially offered £30 to spend at the store. This offering was later bumped up to £500 after Bateman sent photos of the rodent discovery to an Aldi office. Bateman is refusing to accept the compensation, as she believes £500 is not enough.

"Following Mrs. Bateman's complaint, we removed this product from sale to prevent any further issues," Aldi said in a statement. "We have suspended all orders from this production site whilst we investigate this matter."